Our building choices affect urban warming, but they also impact how we experience the heat. Learn how cool and green building options may be used to help lower urban temperatures and increase our ability to cope with, adapt to, and survive extreme heat events.

Around the world, cities are significantly warmer than neighboring rural and suburban areas. The main driver for these higher temperatures is the built environment. Learn more about how our building and developmental choices impact our city temperatures and contribute to the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect.

Temperatures across the globe have been increasing, leading to more extreme weather events, higher daytime and nighttime temperatures, and more widespread and longer-lasting heat waves. Learn more about the dangers posed by rising temperatures and extreme heat in this article, the first in our upcoming series on extreme heat.